This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:18] Josh Lamon: Hey everybody, welcome back to Josh Swallows Broadway. Guess who the fuck we're swallowing today? It is a lesbian reunion show. Oh yeah baby. Lesbians. Lesbians. Lesbians. What lesbians am I talking about you might be asking? What lesbians? Caitlin Kinnunen and Izzy McCalla. Woo! Woo! Represent. We were just discussing that ASMR is a very powerful tool and Caitlin needs a little ASMR just to feel comfortable. No. I'm gonna be. So that was our that was the beginning and end of ASMR for Caitlin. Ready to go now. Hi you two. How's it going?

[1:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: So good.

[1:19] Izzy McCalla: So good.

[1:20] Josh Lamon: What was the last time that you two saw each other?

[1:24] Caitlin Kinnunen: Closing.

[1:25] Izzy McCalla: Closing.

[1:26] Josh Lamon: No way.

[1:27] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[1:28] Josh Lamon: That's painful.

[1:29] Caitlin Kinnunen: I know. Well she's been busy.

[1:31] Izzy McCalla: You were busy too. We were both away from the city.

[1:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: True. But like you for much longer. Wait Caitlin, where did you go?

[1:36] Caitlin Kinnunen: I went to Seattle.

[1:37] Josh Lamon: Why?

[1:38] Caitlin Kinnunen: To see my family.

[1:39] Josh Lamon: Why?

[1:40] Caitlin Kinnunen: Because I love them.

[1:41] Josh Lamon: Why?

[1:42] Caitlin Kinnunen: Because they're awesome human beings. I can keep going.

[1:44] Josh Lamon: One of my favorite things about you is didn't you like grow up on an island outside of Seattle?

[1:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: I did, yes.

[1:50] Josh Lamon: Tell us about this island.

[1:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: It's really great. It's really beautiful. There's water surrounding it because you know it's an island. It's called Kamaino Island.

[2:00] Izzy McCalla: Kamaino Island.

[2:01] Caitlin Kinnunen: It's really actually quite large. You get to it from a bridge, not a ferry.

[2:06] Josh Lamon: Oh. It's a bastard island.

[2:08] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. What does that mean?

[2:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like most of the islands like out like in Washington you get to on a ferry.

[2:12] Izzy McCalla: Yeah.

[2:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: But you go just go over a bridge for hours. You don't have to get on a boat. So it's bastard. You're robbed of the journey of a ferry.

[2:20] Josh Lamon: Yeah. I don't know. I really consider that an island. You're connected. You have a nose.

[2:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: But the thing is is like if like like okay so fun story when I was in like first grade a meth lab blew up next to the school.

[2:32] Josh Lamon: What?

[2:33] Caitlin Kinnunen: And so like there was a ton of traffic getting on and off the island and we were stuck on the bridge for like an hour before school was canceled before they realized we should maybe cancel school because a meth lab blew up. But yeah so it's the only way on and off of the island so like if something happens you're screwed.

[2:49] Izzy McCalla: That's nuts. No meth labs blew up where I grew up.

[2:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: No. We had Indian Point near me but you know that's just a nuclear reactor.

[2:56] Josh Lamon: And it's called Indian Point?

[2:58] Izzy McCalla: It is.

[2:59] Josh Lamon: That's great. It's a questionable name now.

[3:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: Native American Point.

[3:03] Izzy McCalla: That is the political or American Indian Point I think is the politically correct.

[3:07] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'll take that too. Where are you from Izzy?

[3:10] Izzy McCalla: I'm from Queens originally and then I moved and grew up in Rockland County New York which is 45 minutes north of New York City. So essentially we all live pretty close to a nuclear reactor is what you're saying.

[3:20] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah exactly.

[3:21] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. Well that explains how talented you are. You know.

[3:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: But like in 10 years she's gonna like grow an extra limb.

[3:28] Izzy McCalla: Or superpowers.

[3:30] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm gonna go with an extra limb.

[3:32] Izzy McCalla: Yeah probably. I'm gonna go with the extra limb. It's gonna be another toe. I'll be like the six-footed toe woman.

[3:37] Josh Lamon: What if it's just like oh he's fat though.

[3:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: It'll be like you know when you it just like shows up overnight.

[3:43] Izzy McCalla: It's so nice to see you two back in your natural habit. You really need to like rein us in.

[3:47] Josh Lamon: With a weird oh my gosh this is just gonna keep spiraling out of control. I love it. Now what did you two meet when we went to Atlanta with the show?

[3:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yes that's when we met.

[3:57] Izzy McCalla: Yeah it was it was a slow burn. You know our love affair.

[4:02] Josh Lamon: Did Caitlin not like you at first?

[4:05] Izzy McCalla: Hated her.

[4:06] Caitlin Kinnunen: She didn't hate me but she.

[4:08] Izzy McCalla: You were doing your own thing.

[4:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: I was really focused on the show and not friends.

[4:12] Izzy McCalla: Well that's not true because we would run lines.

[4:14] Caitlin Kinnunen: That's true. But again that's like show focus. We were like actively working on the show.

[4:18] Izzy McCalla: Yeah that's true. I actually hate you and I'm not your friend.

[4:21] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah I don't really care for you either and honestly you were a little bottom heavy for Emma.

[4:25] Izzy McCalla: Oh.

[4:26] Caitlin Kinnunen: Now now that up Dory just jumped out the window.

[4:29] Izzy McCalla: Dory just jumped out the window. Bye Dory.

[4:32] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh god. No I mean I also didn't really hang out in Atlanta either. But also like Atlanta was weird because we were putting so many changes in and like yes like it just I don't know it was like amazing but also like so like I didn't do anything like I would just like go home learn what I had to learn for the next day and then do the show.

[4:54] Izzy McCalla: Also it was a million fucking degrees.

[4:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah you couldn't go anywhere. I just stayed on Peachtree the one of 50 Peachtree streets in Atlanta.

[5:03] Izzy McCalla: Yeah and everything is named after a peach tree.

[5:06] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah literally. We were like northeast Peachtree or where. Peachtree street.

[5:12] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. Peachtree lane. Peachtree street. Southwest Peachtree. Peachtree tree.

[5:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Peachtree dish.

[5:20] Izzy McCalla: Well everybody would hang out in front of the hotel.

[5:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: The lanai.

[5:24] Izzy McCalla: Yeah on the lanai. But it was so hot. It was awful.

[5:28] Caitlin Kinnunen: I literally. You have to have a cocktail to calm you down.

[5:31] Izzy McCalla: Nope I would just go straight to my room.

[5:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: Exactly. Straight to my room. Turn on the AC. Pray for a different life and go to bed and then walk outside again and be like oh my god it is disgusting.

[5:44] Izzy McCalla: It was also hard because like the theater was so cold. So I always remember being like bundled up and then like not taking off all of my sweaters and like walking to the hotel and then getting to the hotel and being like why am I so hot. I'm wearing 12 sweaters because the theater is freezing but it's literally 100 degrees outside.

[6:03] Caitlin Kinnunen: God it was awful. I mean besides that Atlanta is a lot of fun. Really good food. King and Duke's.

[6:09] Izzy McCalla: Oh yeah. I never went because I didn't do anything.

[6:12] Caitlin Kinnunen: Right. Wait but you went to that we had that uh that dinner uh.

[6:16] Izzy McCalla: The barbecue thing.

[6:17] Caitlin Kinnunen: The barbecue. Oh what was the name of that place? The mac and cheese and the chicken.

[6:22] Izzy McCalla: Oh. Sally Mac. Allison. Sally May. Mac. Something mac yeah. Mac and Sally. I don't know. Mac and Mabel.

[6:31] Caitlin Kinnunen: We're dorks. And I got to be in understudy rehearsal with you.

[6:34] Izzy McCalla: Yes you did. Because you understudied Alyssa. And I understudied Barry.

[6:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah it was fun. We had a good time. Well I remember watching you and being like this girl is remarkable. She's real good.

[6:46] Izzy McCalla: And also a little fun fact because we were both in the ensemble when we got down to Atlanta.

[6:51] Caitlin Kinnunen: My things have changed.

[6:52] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. Atlanta's crazy. And originally I played the coach and I'd be like my son don't have to go to no homosexual brunch.

[6:59] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yes.

[7:00] Izzy McCalla: And my name was Liliana Boomer. And my mother and I had immigrated from Colombia.

[7:05] Caitlin Kinnunen: And Colombia.

[7:06] Izzy McCalla: And I she married Boomer Sr. Which is me. And that was made by Alayna Waters who's brilliant. And then your son was Teddy Toy.

[7:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah Teddy Toy and we called him Boomer. Boomer Jr. You're gonna get the boom boom stick.

[7:20] Izzy McCalla: Um yeah. And everyone listening to this is like what is going on. Our family storyline was very fleshed out.

[7:27] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh yeah. So fleshed out. Every scene.

[7:30] Izzy McCalla: And then when you and uh Alyssa would make up in the end.

[7:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. You guys had like a full scene going on behind us.

[7:37] Izzy McCalla: I would pull the kids together and talk to them about what lesbianism is.

[7:41] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Yeah. And I was like I think I might be one.

[7:44] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. Because I used my same prom wig and I ended up with Mary at the end. So that was my way to come out too.

[7:50] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Yeah. Which is you know. And maybe. I would say a number of really really really filthy inappropriate things.

[7:57] Izzy McCalla: Oh my god. The things that you said to me. During the Broadway run. How dare you. You know this is exactly why I didn't want you on the show. I thought they don't want to see Caitlyn. They want to see Izzy.

[8:12] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Did you guys ever feel competitive with each other? Like.

[8:15] Izzy McCalla: Every day. I got more fan mail than you.

[8:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: No.

[8:19] Izzy McCalla: No. I got more. Absolutely not. Do you imagine. But I'm not. It's fine. It's fine.

[8:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: I do wish that they would have sold like Alyssa and Emma dolls in the lobby.

[8:30] Izzy McCalla: That would have been amazing.

[8:31] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. We got those knitted dolls for opening that Dory made us. Or commissioned. They were beautiful.

[8:37] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. I still have them. If she hadn't jumped out the window earlier I would have said that that's so sweet.

[8:43] Caitlin Kinnunen: She was still with us.

[8:44] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. Oh I see her. She's climbing up the building. She made it. She'll be back in soon.

[8:50] Caitlin Kinnunen: Um. Yeah. We weren't competitive.

[8:52] Izzy McCalla: No. Not at all. There's no. There's no reason to. Like on a grander scale. Not even between us. Like there's no reason to be competitive with anyone.

[9:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: No. I agree.

[9:03] Izzy McCalla: You're different people. It doesn't matter.

[9:06] Caitlin Kinnunen: I completely disagree now.

[9:08] Izzy McCalla: Um. That's Logan. Logan's our little buddy. Logan wants to be competitive.

[9:12] Josh Lamon: Our producer brought in his kiddo. And he's just precious. And yeah. When everybody said hi to him. It would go like hi Logan. I'm Caitlin. And then nothing.

[9:20] Izzy McCalla: And that was the same for all of us. But that's okay. He loves me.

[9:24] Caitlin Kinnunen: I was like you're just like show business. So this is very on brand.

[9:29] Izzy McCalla: Oh Dory just jumped out the window again.

[9:32] Caitlin Kinnunen: Dory. Oh she's. Oh I hope. I hope nobody in the building complains. I like the studio.

[9:39] Josh Lamon: Did you both know that you had chemistry when you took over for Alyssa?

[9:43] Izzy McCalla: No. I think our organic weirdness.

[9:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Just kind of instantly clicked.

[9:48] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. And you were like.

[9:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. You texted me when.

[9:50] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. When it's. When you were like I'm so excited that you were doing this together.

[9:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. So we were texting for a while before we did the lab. And then when we got to the lab.

[10:00] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. We were just like. I think. I think it was the first day we were singing in the lab. And you turned next to me and you said I didn't think they could find somebody weirder than me. But I think they did.

[10:12] Caitlin Kinnunen: So that was the beginning of our love story.

[10:15] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. Well the chemistry that you two had was magnetic and magical. I mean it's really hard to fall in love with her. She's very unattractive.

[10:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yes. And just a really mean person.

[10:25] Izzy McCalla: And halitosis.

[10:27] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh the breath is so bad. I try. The mints don't work. I don't know what to tell you.

[10:32] Izzy McCalla: No. She makes it so easy.

[10:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. She's the most beautiful human inside and out. And like super talented. And like how could you not fall in love with that every day.

[10:41] Izzy McCalla: One of my favorite things in the show was dance with you was turning around to look at her and the lights the way the lights hit her and her eyes they would be like hazel green yellow.

[10:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: It was it was a really easy way to fall in love with her.

[10:52] Izzy McCalla: And the last show I can't even. It was awful. Mr. Rick. We really held it together.

[10:57] Caitlin Kinnunen: Until the last song. But we.

[10:59] Izzy McCalla: And then I screamed the last song because I couldn't.

[11:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: We laughed through the entire thing.

[11:04] Izzy McCalla: I was sobbing like I just watched my family drown.

[11:07] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Sobbing uncontrollably.

[11:09] Izzy McCalla: Yeah. Oh man. It was awful and wonderful.

[11:12] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. It was. I literally got on a plane right after that. I don't know how you did that.

[11:17] Izzy McCalla: I ripped the bandaid and I was at the airport. I got a cocktail and I was journaling and sobbing all at once because I don't want to forget.

[11:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: Everyone around you was like oh no. What happened to her. Truly. And I'd be like laughing randomly. I probably looked like a crazy person.

[11:32] Izzy McCalla: Where is this person's handler. She needs to go back in the straitjacket.

[11:36] Caitlin Kinnunen: If I was a nun I would have come up to you and try to console you. You know. My child.

[11:41] Izzy McCalla: I'd be like my name is Sister Mary Mary and I'm here to console you everyone.

[11:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: Sister Mary Mary.

[11:48] Izzy McCalla: Sister Mary Mary. What was it like for you two to build Alyssa and Emma together?

[11:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: Really great. That was fun.

[11:55] Izzy McCalla: Well that's the thing is like it didn't ever feel like work because we were just like being ourselves you know.

[12:01] Caitlin Kinnunen: And we got to be like weird and fun and like kooky together and it just kind of like all happened organically.

[12:07] Izzy McCalla: Like there wasn't a moment where we like sat down and we're like okay we really need to like discuss our character arcs and like backstory together.

[12:14] Caitlin Kinnunen: It just kind of like organically happened. There were like a couple moments we talk about the scene and the arc of the scene but we never had to. Our chemistry was never an issue in our relationship I don't think.

[12:27] Izzy McCalla: No. We figured you know these are the moments when you need to feel the love at the most or you know so that the rift can feel even stronger and more palpable. But for the most part it just came naturally.

[12:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Now did you both know the impact that you would have on so many young people?

[12:43] Izzy McCalla: I mean I think in the back of my mind I like to believe that that was a possibility but I never imagined that it would be as significant as it was.

[12:51] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Sure. I mean we still get so many responses and letters and messages. Every day there's another prom appreciation post I feel from these kids who found themselves through this show and our characters helped them do that and gave them strength and hope that it could be good and it could be happy. They could have positive lives and not ones that ended in disaster.

[13:14] Izzy McCalla: And they keep that story with them and with the book that just came out too I think they're just rediscovering it again in a new way.

[13:21] Caitlin Kinnunen: And we all are on that audiobook which is so cool.

[13:24] Izzy McCalla: Which I love though my mother doesn't seem to understand what it is. I literally got maybe 15 text messages today that said so is it the musical?

[13:32] Caitlin Kinnunen: No it's a book.

[13:33] Izzy McCalla: It's a book.

[13:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: But the cast is in it. I don't know who's in it but there are people in it.

[13:39] Izzy McCalla: So what are you singing?

[13:40] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm not singing it's a book.

[13:42] Izzy McCalla: But it's about the prom?

[13:44] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yes. But it's not the musical?

[13:46] Izzy McCalla: No it is a book. A book for young readers.

[13:50] Caitlin Kinnunen: Well why don't you know if the whole cast is in it? And I literally was like mother. They called me and said would you do this? I said yes. I then went to a recording studio and said.

[14:48] Caitlin Kinnunen: And then they said, thank you. And then I left the recording studio. And that was the end of my experience making. Yes, same. She's still texting me questions. Like, she's like, Well, if I buy it, will you get it? Will you get money? And I said, No, no.

[15:08] Isabelle McCalla: We do know the answer.

[15:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: For everything in our industry.

[15:12] Isabelle McCalla: Yes.

[15:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: We sell our rights.

[15:16] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, yeah. Goodbye.

[15:19] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like, at the end, I was just like, Listen, you, you will buy it. And you'll like it or you won't. Yeah. And that's okay, too.

[15:26] Isabelle McCalla: Mm hmm. You spend what, like $14?

[15:28] Caitlin Kinnunen: You let me know, Mom.

[15:30] Isabelle McCalla: That's it.

[15:31] Caitlin Kinnunen: Let me know.

[15:32] Isabelle McCalla: A lot of people love it.

[15:33] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah, I loved it.

[15:34] Isabelle McCalla: Well,

[15:35] Caitlin Kinnunen: Did you listen to it already?

[15:36] Isabelle McCalla: I've listened to some of it, but like doing it, like reading it for that.

[15:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, yeah.

[15:40] Isabelle McCalla: It's fun.

[15:41] Caitlin Kinnunen: I actually like I listen to like chunks of it, but like, I can't listen to all of it. I can't listen to my voice.

[15:46] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[15:47] Caitlin Kinnunen: Listening to me read out loud is my worst nightmare.

[15:50] Isabelle McCalla: Like, I can listen to myself.

[15:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: Listening to you.

[15:53] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[15:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like, I feel like we should listen to like each other.

[15:55] Isabelle McCalla: Chapters.

[15:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. But yeah, like, I can listen to myself sing.

[15:58] Isabelle McCalla: No problem.

[15:59] Caitlin Kinnunen: Because that feels like a different, like, part of me.

[16:02] Isabelle McCalla: But like, listening to myself speak.

[16:04] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm like, I can't.

[16:05] Isabelle McCalla: Okay.

[16:06] Caitlin Kinnunen: No.

[16:07] Isabelle McCalla: That's been the biggest challenge with my podcast.

[16:10] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah, listening.

[16:11] Isabelle McCalla: Because I have to listen back, you know, before.

[16:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: Right.

[16:14] Isabelle McCalla: Episodes get released.

[16:15] Caitlin Kinnunen: And I'm like.

[16:16] Isabelle McCalla: You should just wing it.

[16:17] Caitlin Kinnunen: You should just be like, it's fine.

[16:18] Isabelle McCalla: It's fine.

[16:19] Caitlin Kinnunen: Has it gotten easier?

[16:20] Isabelle McCalla: Huh?

[16:21] Caitlin Kinnunen: Has it gotten easier listening to yourself?

[16:22] Isabelle McCalla: It will never get easier.

[16:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[16:24] Isabelle McCalla: Also, because I'm always critiquing myself.

[16:26] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[16:27] Isabelle McCalla: Right.

[16:28] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[16:29] Isabelle McCalla: Now.

[16:30] Caitlin Kinnunen: Well, that was my issue is like listening to it.

[16:31] Isabelle McCalla: I was like, that's not how I should have said it.

[16:32] Caitlin Kinnunen: Right.

[16:33] Isabelle McCalla: Right.

[16:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: Can't we go back and do that again?

[16:35] Isabelle McCalla: No, because it's done.

[16:36] Caitlin Kinnunen: Right.

[16:37] Isabelle McCalla: Okay.

[16:38] Caitlin Kinnunen: Now, do you also put that same kind of pressure on yourself as performers?

[16:43] Isabelle McCalla: Always.

[16:44] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm rarely satisfied.

[16:45] Isabelle McCalla: Never.

[16:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: With anything I do.

[16:47] Isabelle McCalla: So, what was it like leading this Broadway show?

[16:50] Caitlin Kinnunen: Awful.

[16:51] Isabelle McCalla: Really?

[16:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, my God.

[16:53] Isabelle McCalla: Like, incredible.

[16:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: And like, such a cool experience.

[16:55] Isabelle McCalla: But like, the most pressure I've ever put myself under.

[16:58] Caitlin Kinnunen: Ever.

[16:59] Isabelle McCalla: I can't imagine.

[17:00] Caitlin Kinnunen: It was awful.

[17:01] Isabelle McCalla: It's been very interesting, like, not having done the show for a month now that it's like,

[17:07] Caitlin Kinnunen: I knew that I was stressed and under pressure, but I had no idea how much.

[17:11] Isabelle McCalla: Having, like, been able to step away and not be a part of it, I was like, oh, shit.

[17:16] Caitlin Kinnunen: I was not being kind to myself or others because I was so stressed.

[17:22] Isabelle McCalla: Do you feel like you're in a new body?

[17:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yes.

[17:24] Isabelle McCalla: Completely.

[17:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: Completely new body.

[17:26] Isabelle McCalla: Like, new body, new mind, new, like, everything.

[17:29] Caitlin Kinnunen: And I'm like, how was I surviving?

[17:32] Isabelle McCalla: I remember watching you go into survival mode.

[17:36] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, yeah.

[17:37] Isabelle McCalla: You know, like, you could visibly see, like, oh, Caitlin's recharging.

[17:43] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[17:44] Isabelle McCalla: So why don't you say hi to her before the scene and let her recharge?

[17:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[17:50] Isabelle McCalla: Especially during awards season.

[17:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, God.

[17:53] Isabelle McCalla: That was when it, like, really hit and was, like, became truly a different level of it.

[17:59] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like, because you're always, like, doing a show, there's always a certain level of, like, stress that comes along with it, but then you add awards season on top of that, and, like, that was a stress that I had never experienced before and never been aware that it could be so bad.

[18:12] Isabelle McCalla: And so it was just like, oh, my God.

[18:15] Caitlin Kinnunen: What was it like for you?

[18:17] Isabelle McCalla: Like, what was your daily life like?

[18:20] Caitlin Kinnunen: Well, A, I didn't have a life.

[18:22] Isabelle McCalla: Like, that's a huge part of it is that, like, it was all show-based.

[18:27] Caitlin Kinnunen: It was like, wake up, go to a press event, go to a different press event, go to the theater, get ready, do the show, go home, sleep, repeat.

[18:34] Isabelle McCalla: You know, there was no breathing room for anything outside of that.

[18:38] Caitlin Kinnunen: And, like, it's so difficult because people see what we do as, like, just the show.

[18:44] Isabelle McCalla: They say, like, oh, well, you just have, like, a two-and-a-half-hour thing.

[18:47] Caitlin Kinnunen: And it's like, no, the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes is absolutely insane.

[18:51] Isabelle McCalla: And so it's this weird thing where, like, people appreciate what you do, but they don't see all of it.

[18:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: And then you're working your ass off.

[18:58] Isabelle McCalla: And then, like, there's just so many levels to it that make it so complicated.

[19:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: But at the same time, I love every second of it and would not change anything that happened at all.

[19:09] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, sure.

[19:10] Caitlin Kinnunen: It was just that shit.

[19:11] Isabelle McCalla: Exactly.

[19:12] Caitlin Kinnunen: Would you have to have, like, a different fancy outfit for each thing?

[19:16] Isabelle McCalla: Yes.

[19:17] Caitlin Kinnunen: This is the thing.

[19:18] Isabelle McCalla: You wouldn't have to.

[19:19] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like, I could have shown up in the same outfit every time.

[19:21] Isabelle McCalla: But, like, there's, like, an unwritten rule that, like, you have to be wearing a new thing every single day.

[19:26] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like, truly, I got nominated for the Tony.

[19:29] Isabelle McCalla: And that day went and bought, like, three outfits for the next three days because I didn't have anything.

[19:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: And I was like, cool.

[19:35] Isabelle McCalla: Well, now I have no time.

[19:37] Caitlin Kinnunen: So it was like, you're nominated for a Tony.

[19:39] Isabelle McCalla: Okay, go shopping.

[19:40] Caitlin Kinnunen: Wow.

[19:41] Isabelle McCalla: It's like, okay.

[19:43] Caitlin Kinnunen: Wow.

[19:44] Isabelle McCalla: And again, like, that's something where it's like, that's all, like, my money, you know?

[19:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like, that's not something that gets, like, I mean, I guess it can be.

[19:52] Isabelle McCalla: Like, people have people who, like, provide those things for people.

[19:55] Caitlin Kinnunen: But I did not.

[19:56] Isabelle McCalla: And so it's like I went and dropped, like, $300 to, like, on the outfit I wore the next day at, like, the Tony press event.

[20:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: It's crazy.

[20:03] Isabelle McCalla: It's crazy.

[20:04] Caitlin Kinnunen: I would return all that shit.

[20:06] Isabelle McCalla: I've done that before.

[20:08] Caitlin Kinnunen: I would be like the tag is hidden.

[20:10] Isabelle McCalla: And this is going right back to the store.

[20:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: That's smart.

[20:14] Isabelle McCalla: I'm a hoarder, though.

[20:15] Caitlin Kinnunen: Exactly.

[20:16] Isabelle McCalla: I've been like, oh, but I may want to wear it again.

[20:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: See, mine is all, like, emotional attachment.

[20:20] Isabelle McCalla: So it's like, well, I wore this to my first Tony press conference.

[20:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: So, like, I have to keep it.

[20:24] Isabelle McCalla: You have to keep it.

[20:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah, my mom is going to turn all these press outfits into a big quilt.

[20:28] Isabelle McCalla: No, I literally have a box of stuff that I'm shipping back home to Seattle to, like, have my parents keep in my home closet.

[20:35] Caitlin Kinnunen: There is a dress that I wore to my first audition for Spring Awakening that I still have that I will not get rid of because it was my first audition for Broadway and I booked it.

[20:45] Isabelle McCalla: And so, like, that has, like, I'm crazy.

[20:47] Caitlin Kinnunen: And, like, I'm keeping the dress.

[20:48] Isabelle McCalla: It doesn't fit me anymore, like, at all.

[20:50] Caitlin Kinnunen: But, like, I'm keeping the dress.

[20:51] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[20:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: I wore a shirt to an audition yesterday that, like, booked me my first TV thing.

[20:55] Isabelle McCalla: And I was like, this is good juju.

[20:57] Caitlin Kinnunen: Exactly.

[20:58] Isabelle McCalla: I have to wear this shirt.

[20:59] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like, it's just a weird mental game you play.

[21:00] Isabelle McCalla: Whatever you have to do psychosomatically to just get you pumped.

[21:03] Caitlin Kinnunen: But then also on the flip side, I remember I had my first kiss when I was 17.

[21:08] Isabelle McCalla: Oh.

[21:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: Who was it with?

[21:10] Isabelle McCalla: I'm not telling you.

[21:11] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh.

[21:12] Isabelle McCalla: But, like, I burned those clothes.

[21:14] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh.

[21:15] Isabelle McCalla: Was it somebody in Spring Awakening?

[21:16] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm assuming it ended badly.

[21:17] Isabelle McCalla: It didn't end badly.

[21:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: But I was like, I don't want to wear these clothes again.

[21:20] Isabelle McCalla: I'm going to get rid of them.

[21:22] Caitlin Kinnunen: Was there, like, a ceremonial burning?

[21:23] Isabelle McCalla: No.

[21:24] Caitlin Kinnunen: I didn't, like, actually burn them.

[21:25] Isabelle McCalla: But, like, I threw them away.

[21:27] Caitlin Kinnunen: Because I didn't ever want to wear them again.

[21:29] Isabelle McCalla: That would be fun.

[21:30] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[21:31] Isabelle McCalla: I mean, I think what I wore for my final audition for my first Broadway show was Old Navy and just had a bunch of holes in it.

[21:41] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, the dress I wore for Spring Awakening was fully, like, Old Navy.

[21:44] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, yeah.

[21:45] Caitlin Kinnunen: I think it was Gap, actually.

[21:46] Isabelle McCalla: Okay.

[21:47] Caitlin Kinnunen: I can look when I get home.

[21:48] Isabelle McCalla: What did you sing?

[21:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: From the show.

[21:50] Isabelle McCalla: Oh.

[21:51] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[21:52] Isabelle McCalla: Mama, who bought me?

[21:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: My Junk.

[21:54] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, I like My Junk.

[21:55] Caitlin Kinnunen: Will you sing My Junk for us?

[21:56] Isabelle McCalla: No.

[21:57] Caitlin Kinnunen: In this land there's nothing.

[21:58] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[21:59] Caitlin Kinnunen: In the night.

[22:00] Isabelle McCalla: And I am so German.

[22:01] Caitlin Kinnunen: German, German.

[22:02] Isabelle McCalla: Hey, Hans, take this stick.

[22:03] Caitlin Kinnunen: And beat me with it.

[22:04] Isabelle McCalla: Take this stick.

[22:05] Caitlin Kinnunen: Got it.

[22:06] Isabelle McCalla: I heard.

[22:07] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:08] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:10] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:11] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:12] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:14] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:15] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:16] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:17] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:18] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:19] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:20] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:21] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:22] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:24] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:24] Isabelle McCalla: It is appropriate with the show, but I'm trying to be a little bit more family-oriented.

[22:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, no.

[22:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: I don't think that will ever happen.

[22:26] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, no.

[22:26] Isabelle McCalla: No.

[22:27] Caitlin Kinnunen: Which is also appropriate with the show, so it makes sense.

[22:27] Caitlin Kinnunen: No.

[22:28] Isabelle McCalla: No, it fucking won't.

[22:29] Caitlin Kinnunen: No, it won't.

[22:30] Isabelle McCalla: And you, you made your Broadway debut doing Aladdin.

[22:33] Caitlin Kinnunen: Aladdin.

[22:34] Isabelle McCalla: Did you see the show with me when I went to go see it?

[22:37] Caitlin Kinnunen: No.

[22:38] Isabelle McCalla: No.

[22:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: No, because I saw it.

[22:40] Isabelle McCalla: I didn't see it with you in it.

[22:41] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm sorry.

[22:42] Isabelle McCalla: That's okay.

[22:43] Caitlin Kinnunen: That's fine.

[22:45] Isabelle McCalla: I saw it during our, it must have been like right after Atlanta that I saw it.

[22:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: Okay.

[22:53] Isabelle McCalla: Okay.

[22:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[22:55] Isabelle McCalla: All right.

[22:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: I saw it during one of our labs.

[22:58] Isabelle McCalla: I think the first, I don't know which lab.

[23:00] Caitlin Kinnunen: Did you see it with her in it?

[23:01] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[23:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: Then it would have been our second lab because it was the one that we're-

[23:03] Isabelle McCalla: The second lab?

[23:04] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[23:05] Isabelle McCalla: Because you came in and you were doing the lesson.

[23:06] Caitlin Kinnunen: And that's why I made my Broadway debut was so that I could do the lab during the day, but also still be employed by Disney.

[23:12] Isabelle McCalla: Thank you very much.

[23:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: That's amazing.

[23:15] Isabelle McCalla: You were so good in that show.

[23:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: I still don't know how they did the flying carpet and I would like everybody to know that I did go to her dressing room and I did put on the Princess Jasmine bra.

[23:28] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[23:29] Caitlin Kinnunen: I have a video of him singing in it.

[23:30] Isabelle McCalla: It's great.

[23:31] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, Dory just jumped out the window again.

[23:32] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, Dory.

[23:33] Caitlin Kinnunen: You looked-

[23:34] Isabelle McCalla: Let people be people.

[23:35] Caitlin Kinnunen: Blue's my color.

[23:36] Isabelle McCalla: And listen, as a big fella, I need a little support up here too.

[23:41] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[23:42] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[23:43] Caitlin Kinnunen: Disney magic for my breasts.

[23:44] Isabelle McCalla: It was magical for all of us.

[23:45] Caitlin Kinnunen: That was my flying carpet.

[23:46] Isabelle McCalla: I want to see this video.

[23:47] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'll show you afterwards.

[23:48] Isabelle McCalla: That's your flying carpet.

[23:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: That's my flying carpet.

[23:50] Isabelle McCalla: And we all just do the rest of the interview.

[23:51] Caitlin Kinnunen: Just like holding our-

[23:52] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, we're all holding our boobies.

[23:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: For those listening and not watching, we're all holding our tits.

[23:58] Isabelle McCalla: Well, also, when they first came and sat down at the table, we were like literally, we were just holding hands like this.

[24:03] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like we were about to say Sabbath prayer.

[24:06] Isabelle McCalla: The Last Supper.

[24:07] Caitlin Kinnunen: Or like we were part of Pan Maid's Tale.

[24:10] Isabelle McCalla: Blessed be the fruit.

[24:11] Caitlin Kinnunen: May the Lord open.

[24:12] Isabelle McCalla: May the Lord open.

[24:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: May the Emma open.

[24:14] Isabelle McCalla: May the Emma open.

[24:15] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh.

[24:16] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, I don't like that.

[24:17] Caitlin Kinnunen: Can we talk about how you are still, is it a GIF or whatever on Instagram?

[24:23] Isabelle McCalla: You as Emma?

[24:24] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yes.

[24:25] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, yeah.

[24:26] Caitlin Kinnunen: The dance would be like just like-

[24:27] Isabelle McCalla: And the song.

[24:28] Caitlin Kinnunen: It's so good.

[24:29] Isabelle McCalla: It's amazing.

[24:30] Caitlin Kinnunen: I use it all the time.

[24:31] Isabelle McCalla: I don't.

[24:32] Caitlin Kinnunen: You should.

[24:33] Isabelle McCalla: What if I put that in every Instagram story I did?

[24:36] Caitlin Kinnunen: You should.

[24:37] Isabelle McCalla: Just my-

[24:38] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like it could be about nothing, which is most of the Instagram stories I post, but just my own GIF.

[24:42] Isabelle McCalla: That's not true.

[24:44] Caitlin Kinnunen: You do a lot of stuff about facials.

[24:45] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[24:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: Skin care.

[24:47] Isabelle McCalla: You're big on the skin care.

[24:48] Caitlin Kinnunen: Skin care.

[24:49] Isabelle McCalla: Sloth.

[24:50] Caitlin Kinnunen: Are you sponsored?

[24:51] Isabelle McCalla: No.

[24:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: Ugh.

[24:53] Isabelle McCalla: Somebody sponsor this girl.

[24:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm kind of surprised that you're not.

[24:55] Isabelle McCalla: I know.

[24:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: Someone, please.

[24:57] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[24:58] Caitlin Kinnunen: Glossier.

[24:59] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[25:00] Caitlin Kinnunen: Glossier.

[25:01] Isabelle McCalla: Glossier.

[25:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh.

[25:06] Isabelle McCalla: Now, Izzy-

[25:07] Caitlin Kinnunen: Anyway.

[25:08] Isabelle McCalla: Your mom was a ballroom dancer.

[25:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[25:10] Isabelle McCalla: Both my parents.

[25:11] Caitlin Kinnunen: They were ballroom dancers and became professional ballroom dancers, and they were U.S. champs, U.S. 10 dance champs, and yeah.

[25:17] Isabelle McCalla: See-

[25:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: That's it.

[25:19] Isabelle McCalla: That's it.

[25:20] Caitlin Kinnunen: And then they started teaching ballroom and coaching and judging.

[25:22] Isabelle McCalla: I'm amazed that they were ballroom dancers, because that would be, like, if I was their parent, I would understand why parents don't get excited when their kids say they want to go into musical theater.

[25:33] Caitlin Kinnunen: Well, that-

[25:34] Isabelle McCalla: Didn't they, like, say that to you?

[25:35] Caitlin Kinnunen: Weren't they, like, not thrilled?

[25:36] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, my-

[25:37] Caitlin Kinnunen: Absolutely not.

[25:38] Isabelle McCalla: My mom wanted me to be a nuclear physicist, and she put me in ballet class when I was eight for the discipline of it, just so somebody could whip me into shape.

[25:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: It really backfired.

[25:47] Isabelle McCalla: It really backfired, because she actually started as an actress and then didn't have the guts.

[25:51] Caitlin Kinnunen: She did, like, pri-

[25:53] Isabelle McCalla: Oh.

[25:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: Is that Private Lives?

[25:55] Isabelle McCalla: Is that an old coward show?

[25:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: I think so.

[25:57] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[25:58] Caitlin Kinnunen: She did that off-Broadway, and then she was about to get an agent, and she was like, ah.

[26:01] Isabelle McCalla: She just-

[26:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: She didn't have the heart, and she didn't have the perseverance.

[26:03] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[26:04] Caitlin Kinnunen: She didn't believe in herself.

[26:05] Isabelle McCalla: So she-

[26:06] Caitlin Kinnunen: What a loser.

[26:07] Isabelle McCalla: Transitioned into-

[26:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm just kidding.

[26:10] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[26:11] Caitlin Kinnunen: She was like, I could do this.

[26:12] Isabelle McCalla: I go to the finals of the U.S. ballroom competition, or I could go to this final callback, and she chose ballroom, because she was getting more instant gratification from the ballroom world-

[26:20] Caitlin Kinnunen: Wow.

[26:22] Isabelle McCalla: And transitioned that way.

[26:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: That- I feel like that makes it sound so easy, like, oh, she just picked ballroom dancing, and I'm like, that has to have been, like, crazy difficult, too.

[26:30] Isabelle McCalla: Are you kidding?

[26:31] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like, I could never just be like, mm, I want to ballroom dance.

[26:33] Isabelle McCalla: It's a very rigorous-

[26:35] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[26:37] Isabelle McCalla: Like, you're training for six, seven-

[26:38] Caitlin Kinnunen: It's basically like an Olympian.

[26:39] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[26:40] Caitlin Kinnunen: You're training six, seven hours a day with your partner.

[26:41] Isabelle McCalla: You have to find a partner that you connect with, that you have chemistry with, that you don't want to kill by the end of it.

[26:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: So my parents were partners, I think, for a year before they dated, and then they joined what was known as the American Ballroom Company.

[26:53] Isabelle McCalla: So there was, like, a traveling theater-

[26:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, American Ballroom Theater.

[26:55] Isabelle McCalla: That's what it was called.

[26:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: And they traveled around the states just performing in shows, and-

[26:59] Isabelle McCalla: That's amazing.

[27:00] Caitlin Kinnunen: It was really cool.

[27:01] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, I have videos of them.

[27:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: At the competitions, I would crawl around on my knees and just fill up cups full of rhinestones-

[27:06] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, my God.

[27:08] Caitlin Kinnunen: Because of all the costumes, it would just fall off.

[27:09] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, that's adorable.

[27:10] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[27:11] Isabelle McCalla: It was good.

[27:12] Caitlin Kinnunen: I liked growing up in a ballroom.

[27:13] Isabelle McCalla: That's amazing.

[27:14] Caitlin Kinnunen: And your parents were not ballroom dancers.

[27:18] Isabelle McCalla: No, they were not.

[27:20] Caitlin Kinnunen: My mom was an artist, and she still is, but she wasn't really doing as much.

[27:24] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, she's amazing.

[27:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: But yeah, so she was a painter and did all of that.

[27:26] Isabelle McCalla: My dad was a cop.

[27:27] Caitlin Kinnunen: I love that.

[27:28] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, yeah.

[27:29] Caitlin Kinnunen: Did you feel extra safe because he was a cop?

[27:32] Isabelle McCalla: No.

[27:33] Caitlin Kinnunen: I mean, it never really fazed us.

[27:37] Isabelle McCalla: It's very interesting because he's been retired for years now, and every once in a while, we'll be together and having a family dinner, and he'll casually mention that one time he got shot at.

[27:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: And my sister and I are always like, wait, what?

[27:49] Isabelle McCalla: Because they never talked about it when we were growing up.

[27:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: And so it was never like, he was just like, oh, our dad's a cop.

[27:56] Isabelle McCalla: We never really put together that he was in danger every day.

[27:59] Caitlin Kinnunen: Wow.

[28:00] Isabelle McCalla: And then we're like, wait, when did that happen?

[28:03] Caitlin Kinnunen: He's always so casual about it, like, oh, I went to retire like six years ago now.

[28:07] Isabelle McCalla: Wow.

[28:08] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yes.

[28:09] Isabelle McCalla: You definitely couldn't talk about it if you're still growing up.

[28:10] Caitlin Kinnunen: Exactly.

[28:11] Isabelle McCalla: You could have lost your dad.

[28:12] Caitlin Kinnunen: Right.

[28:13] Isabelle McCalla: Is he ever like, oh, yeah, I remember that time I took down the terrorist cell, and you're like, what?

[28:17] Caitlin Kinnunen: No, but he did.

[28:19] Isabelle McCalla: He did this really cool thing where he was a cool cop, but the two things that he did that I thought were always really cool were he would patrol the woods and look for people who were stealing cedar.

[28:29] Caitlin Kinnunen: And so he would just go up and wander around the woods for hours and make sure people weren't stealing trees.

[28:35] Isabelle McCalla: How do people steal trees?

[28:37] Caitlin Kinnunen: I don't know.

[28:38] Isabelle McCalla: But imagine.

[28:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: They do.

[28:40] Isabelle McCalla: Because cedar was like, it's really expensive.

[28:42] Caitlin Kinnunen: And people would cut down trees and steal all of the wood and build things with it.

[28:46] Isabelle McCalla: But then he also would fly around in helicopters looking for pot growths and bust people for growing wheat.

[28:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, I would have turned a blind eye.

[28:57] Isabelle McCalla: I really think he did many a time.

[29:00] Caitlin Kinnunen: I would be like, look at that little piece of shit field.

[29:04] Isabelle McCalla: He tells one story that was like, hey, I don't remember the setup of it, but he essentially to this guy was like, yeah, so I'm going to turn around and you've got like 10 minutes to like, get your shit together and then we'll talk.

[29:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: That's so, see, that's the kind of cop that I would be.

[29:22] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[29:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah.

[29:24] Isabelle McCalla: He was he was a very good cop.

[29:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: And when he would pull people over, he would never give tickets if there were children in the car because he wanted cops to be looked at as like a person who would help you, not someone who.

[29:35] Josh Lamon: Was dangerous and unhelpful. You know, like he truly is like, that is what cops should be.

[29:40] Caitlin Kinnunen: Absolutely. Alan, if I ever rent a car, can I borrow your kid and take him with me just in case I get pulled over? I'll take one. Let's start with one. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he won't even talk to me. So the officer will be like, what's your name? And he'll be like, I'm not fucking telling you. My name's Logan. You're a four-eyed slut. I'm not going to type you these things.

[30:05] Josh Lamon: Four-eyed slut. That's good. Thanks. Thanks. I think it's good. You know, that's my new equity name, Josh. Okay, we're gonna see Izzy McCalla, Caitlin Kinnunen and four-eyed slut. Great. You're ready to come in. Really a good rebranding. Yeah. Great to see you, Bernie. Thanks for having me. Thanks. Good luck with the project, everybody. It looks like so much fun. So much fun. So much fun. Um, speaking of so much fun, what have you been doing with your month off? I mean, Izzy, I know that she's been crazy busy. Are we allowed to talk about that?

[30:38] Isabelle McCalla: This won't air for a few months.

[30:44] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, then yeah, probably. Well, there was a Broadway World article that said Aladdin had been filmed. So I guess I can say that. I just don't know. I don't know the distribution of it. Yeah. Okay. So it's okay. So Aladdin has been filmed and that's all we're going to say before we post it. Yeah. Well, people know that we, yeah, I was in London for two weeks and other people were posting a lot of information on Instagram. You know, I will say like you were being so good and like not posting a single thing. And then everyone else was like, posting everything. And I was like, posting a costume. I was like, aren't they not supposed to know that we're doing right?

[31:21] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, but then we got emails being like, you can say that we're cooking up something really special, but we can't tell you what it is yet. But then there was a couple days ago, I saw an article that they released. It wasn't like a big press release, which I think so it wasn't from Disney. So it might have been a leak. But it was on Broadway World that said, Aladdin has been filmed at the Prince Edward Theatre in London. And they had a picture of the entire cast and then a picture of the principal cast with all of us in it. So.

[31:45] Josh Lamon: So can we just say that you've starred on Broadway and on the West End?

[31:51] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, I did make my debut because we did like one show with a full audience.

[31:59] Josh Lamon: What's the difference between Broadway and the West End?

[32:06] Caitlin Kinnunen: The accents. Is everybody on stage there like, Epsy Topsy there, Mr. Aladdin?

[32:12] Isabelle McCalla: No, they do call it an incentive intermission. It's an interval. We have a 15-minute interval. Does the cast talk with American accents?

[32:20] Caitlin Kinnunen: It's American because apparently a lot of the humor didn't translate when they used British accents. But apparently for a while they did say there's a line where she says Jasmine says he's got to pitch in and change a few royal diapers instead of diapers. He said royal nappies because that's what they call them over there. He's got to pitch in and put on some royal nappies.

[32:38] Josh Lamon: That's amazing. And then we said, what are they like not places? This is your call to the stage. I'm remembering her voice. This is your British call to the stage. Oh, this is a big difference. Everybody has to join in in a warm-up, a 15-minute physical and vocal because if you don't do it, you aren't covered insurance-wise if something happens during the show.

[32:55] Caitlin Kinnunen: You know, they tried to make us do physical warm-ups at Groundhog Day.

[32:59] Isabelle McCalla: They succeeded for the first like two months. And then when we were in previews and I mean, we rehearsed all the time. An actor who I will not name had a meltdown right when we were supposed to start warm-ups and was just like, no, this is ridiculous. This is ridiculous. I am warm. I get warm before I get here. This is ridiculous. And next thing you know, no more, no more warm-ups. And I felt like we really let those Brits down.

[33:28] Caitlin Kinnunen: See, I feel like it should be like an optional thing. Yeah. Because there are some days that I would have like loved that. And some days where it's like, no, I want to like be by myself and do my own thing. Right. You know?

[33:42] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, I agree. It was kind of nice. Well, also, we're Americans, so we're automatically better and we don't need to warm up because we're automatically warm up.

[33:46] Josh Lamon: There goes Tori again. She always says, when you say these racist things, I'm like, it's not racist. America's the best.

[34:00] Caitlin Kinnunen: What do you say? What's your joke? I'm not racist. I've been. I'm not. How dare you? I'm not racist. I've been to Epcot twice and I had a wonderful time. How dare you?

[34:13] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, my God. I've been to Epcot twice and I had a wonderful time. Thank you very much. I've always wanted to do that drink around the world there. I haven't done that yet. Let's do it.

[34:22] Josh Lamon: No, I went to Epcot. Can you get in for free? No, you're not. Oh, I might be able to. Yeah, I actually might be able to if I. Let's go. I'm actually very serious about this. Do you want to go to. Let's go. Well, find out if we get in for free. That's a good idea. And then we get in for free. And a VIP. Yeah, I have. I know I have access to a guide that may be able to get it.

[34:50] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, you know, we can get in for free Jerusha because she has like life passes.

[34:56] Isabelle McCalla: Well, that's I want to be treated like VIP. And that's fair. I will. I will do some digging and I'll be like, apparently what people do is they'll just probably shouldn't be talking about this, but whatever they like email the production managers be like, hey, just letting you know, heading to Disney for a couple of days and they give they seem like, great, we'll hook you up. And they have that amazing watch. Now I won't get hooked up. Right. They'll be like, you spilled the secret.

[35:17] Josh Lamon: Oh, no, we're not airing this until we go to Disney and get a VIP treatment. That's good. And we can go and talk to the people at Disney, you know, like, get ready for the parade, everyone. Y'all are going to do great. You're making dreams come true. And then, you know, we'll go drink around the world because I want to drink around the world. Let's drink around the world. I just want to one thing I will say that's really great about unemployment. You can drink at lunch.

[35:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, my gosh. Yeah. It's been such an unhealthy. I like went out to lunch and like had a beer and I was like, what is happening? Also, just like drinking in general, because during the show, I wouldn't drink. And now I'm like also eating late at night.

[36:04] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, I did what I was eating late at night for acid reflux for me. I couldn't do that. So now I cut down on an acid reflux medication. Now I only take one a night instead of two.

[36:15] Caitlin Kinnunen: Wait a minute. Wow. You don't eat after the show. You like. Yes. But you only certain things. Yeah. Like you can't eat pizza.

[36:22] Isabelle McCalla: What? Yeah. Because then I couldn't sing the next day. This my auntie.

[36:29] Caitlin Kinnunen: Your auntie is a god is a Nazi. They're there. I love him so much. He's like Santa. Oh, who's your auntie? Dr. Ian Storper.

[36:36] Josh Lamon: Hey, I don't know which camera to look at. And you want to come to Disney with us? You probably not. OK. He's very busy. I like rides. I like some rides. You will not be surprised by this. I don't like roller coasters, like crazy ones. Do you like the Tower of Terror drops?

[36:54] Isabelle McCalla: I've never done that. And I really don't think I would enjoy it. I am afraid of vomit.

[37:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: What? Like doing it or like just I'm afraid of myself vomiting. OK, like it's a big phobia and it causes me panic attacks. So I will avoid things that potentially would make me want to vomit because of that.

[37:14] Josh Lamon: Yeah, no, that's that's absolutely legit. And I'm glad that we're talking. Actually, this is a great segue. No, no, it's not a funny thing. It's actually a really good thing. One thing that I really, really love about you is so scared of what's going to happen. No, it's a good thing is that you use your voice for good about mental health, about body positivity and about diabetes.

[37:38] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, because why the fuck not? Well, a lot of people are afraid to have that conversation.

[37:44] Caitlin Kinnunen: I know. And I'm trying to change that because you shouldn't be. That's what I mean. Back when I was doing hair, I was having panic attacks. I would start gagging before I'd have to speak and like I was going to throw up. And then when I was talking, I would sort of enter this like all like I could just call it like the white room where I knew that I was talking and doing my job, but I felt like I was going to faint. Yeah. And I had a few people in the cast that knew about it and knew that if I was coming to them in a certain way, like what they should do to help me. But I was very closeted about it, too. So that's something that I really admire.

[38:23] Isabelle McCalla: Thank you. I will like a caveat to that is like I am very privileged in I in the way that like my job supports me and I am surrounded by people who love me and accept me. And so it's very easy for me to be open about these things because I have no fear of like ramifications about it. And I will say that there are people in the world where like they can't talk about it at work because they fear that like they will be fired, you know, which is illegal. But, you know, there are people who don't talk about it because of job safety and like life safety. And I'm very fortunate that I can be so open about it.

[39:04] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah. Well, I think it's helpful for a lot of people. It's helpful for me, too. Yeah. But like kudos to both of you because like you both were people that I would go to to be like, hey, I'm feeling this way. And you both like always showed up and were like, we got you.

[39:14] Josh Lamon: Who would you go to more, me or Izzy?

[39:17] Caitlin Kinnunen: She saw me more. I know. Wow. Wow. Wow. OK. I'm so sorry.

[39:25] Josh Lamon: It's okay. Well, if it makes you feel any better, we were in opposite scenes, so she at least had somebody.

[39:29] Caitlin Kinnunen: Exactly. Basically, I had one in every show. Now, one of my favorite things was that like. Our characters never, never met, we never met once. I just said hi to you as you passed by with a fly.

[39:37] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, I would be like, hey, good to see you, girl. Like as if we have some history. And then my favorite game to play with you is like at the end of Act one when like this is going well and you turn on stage to cry and I'm supposed to walk up there and like try to comfort you and then be like, she won't talk to me, Brooks, you do it. I'd be like, Emma, hi, I'm Sheldon. We haven't spoken yet. Not now, Sheldon.

[40:10] Caitlin Kinnunen: That'd be like very quick. I have a line. The things that were said during that moment. Brooks would pass after he checked in with you and it failed check in. He'd come to me at the chip stand, but we were in two different universes. Sometimes he'd just like slightly crinkle the chips. Other times he'd be like, or it'd be like, it's going well.

[40:40] Isabelle McCalla: I love that warm-up.

[40:45] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah, but just so I could hear it.

[40:48] Isabelle McCalla: My favorite moment truly in that moment was when you switched to the class. So we all kept getting injuries and we both were supposed to be wearing heels in that scene, but then like I had a hip issue, so it couldn't run in the heels. And so switch to flats. And then she had an injury and switch to flats, but she got a pair of flats that were really strappy sandals. And whenever she walked, it would be like, flap, flap, flap, flap, flap, flap, flap.

[41:16] Caitlin Kinnunen: And it was so loud. I had to learn how to gently run across stage. It never worked. I'd be like, you lied to me.

[41:24] Isabelle McCalla: It was amazing. Well, remember when Courtney, who played Mrs. Green, saw your first pair of shoes before the sandals came in?

[41:31] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, I was in my Keds. I was in my Keds in my pink dress and she had the line fixing little problems is what I do. And so she pointed to the Keds and she made a really like ugly face, just like fixing little problems is what I do. I start losing it and I start laughing. And then she lost it to the point where she just was gasping for air, trying to sing the rest of it. And I was crying. She was like, we were both crying, shoulders shaking. There was nothing I could do to help her. She finally said, get your ass in the car. Not get your ass in the car or whatever.

[42:15] Isabelle McCalla: Everyone backstage, one of my favorite things that has ever happened.

[42:20] Caitlin Kinnunen: And I was so helped. I fully just laughed at her face. It was so good. Cherished memories.

[42:25] Isabelle McCalla: Did you two have any fun like moments on stage that that we weren't all privy to?

[42:32] Caitlin Kinnunen: You know, like, like I would come to you and be like, hey, I don't know that we had any like, like spoken moments, but we had this thing called eye strings.

[42:45] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[42:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: We're like, we would imagine these like laser beams connecting our eyes and every day there would be a different color. We'd tell each other about the colors of the eyes, eye strings.

[42:54] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah. So what else did we do? There was a lot of backstage. I mean, the very there, there was a lot of eye contact. So whenever I knew something was wrong on me, like, oh, yeah, costume thing or my wig was too far back or I had an eyelash out of place. She would just stare at that part of my body. She wouldn't look at me in moments where like she couldn't do anything about it. I'd be like, your wig is falling off and I just stare at her.

[43:23] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'd be like, I love you, Emma Nolan. And she'd be like, holy shit. And then walk towards me and just look at my eyebrow. Or like, keep looking down at my necklace, like looking at my eyes. You're going to fix that. You're going to do it. You're going to do it. That was a subtext.

[43:36] Isabelle McCalla: Also, at the very end, we go, I just want to dance.

[43:41] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. We had a lot of mess up so that at first it was like we didn't know which way to step. At first it was awkward footing. Sometimes I didn't know I was doing this, but I would she would lock lock my arm and like not let me like pull her closer to me. And I'm like, do you hate me? Like, do not like what's happening. So she would do one of her eyes down to the arm, just looking down.

[44:02] Isabelle McCalla: And that made us laugh. There are many, many shows where people just didn't hear us singing at the end because we were laughing. That was the worst point. It's like we've made it through the whole show. And that was the moment when we would lose our shit. And it was always when Matt Sklar was in the audience. He was always there. We'd be like, can you guys save the last part? We were like, we do when you're not here.

[44:23] Isabelle McCalla: He's got to pitch in and put on his royal nappies!

[44:54] Caitlin Kinnunen: At the end, I was doing something nutsy. It was, and like Brooks and I just couldn't keep it together. But it's when you and your mom are being handoff and the scene goes like, "I just don't want you to have a hard life. It's already hard." "Mom. Okay. We'll talk tonight." "Okay. Okay."

[45:19] Caitlin Kinnunen: And all of a sudden, Brooks and I just start going like, "I don't want you to have a bad wig. It's already bad." "It's already bad, Mom. Okay. Okay. We'll repin it tonight."

[45:35] Caitlin Kinnunen: And we couldn't keep it together. Truly. That was like the only point when there were ever wig issues because at that point you had taken all the pins out so you could do the quick change. So that was the moment where it was going to be weird if it was going to be weird. Yeah. You know, so that was always when I looked at you like, "What?"

[45:51] Isabelle McCalla: Nothing makes me happier than when wigs go wrong on Broadway. This was not on Broadway. This was at a local theater in Seattle when I was 14. I was doing a show.

[46:16] Caitlin Kinnunen: What show?

[46:16] Isabelle McCalla: Fairy Stories.

[46:18] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, I love that one. Based on the movie Fairy Stories about the girls who take pictures of fairies in the early 1900s and everyone thought they were real. It's actually amazing.

[46:38] Isabelle McCalla: Cool. So there was like a quick change where I changed my wig and I went from like this long blonde thing to like a short bob with bangs because she was like changing it up. And then I proceed to do a waltz and did the quick change throughout the waltz. The bangs just like slip further and further and further back.

[46:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: So by the time the scene is over, it's like Denise from SNL with the bad bangs. And we couldn't make it through the scene following it because we were like, "Oh no." I just love when things go wrong, period. It's so funny.

[47:01] Caitlin Kinnunen: What did anything go wrong for you during prom?

[47:01] Isabelle McCalla: I would have close calls, but nothing ever went wrong.

[47:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: No, I didn't. I would. There was one time I was singing Melissa Green and I said, "Endless rules apply when you're a Rissa Green." And I called myself a Rissa.

[47:22] Isabelle McCalla: I couldn't look at her the entire rest of the number.

[47:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: Are you breaking up with me?

[47:27] Isabelle McCalla: Yes, I am. Oh, and then, oh, there was one day. This was the day after opening. We were rehearsing for the Macy's Thanksgiving Community Parade and she gave me a face hickey.

[47:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: She sucked out my cheek so hard to the point where I had a hickey on my face.

[47:44] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, that was the day I said a Rissa Green. It was because of that. So the reason I said a Rissa was because again, she was staring at my face hickey during Alyssa Green and she was about to laugh.

[47:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: And I could tell that she was like, she was trying to use it to fuel my anger. But naturally, I was like, "Your whole life's a lie when you're a Rissa Green."

[48:03] Isabelle McCalla: And then it was just bad.

[48:06] Caitlin Kinnunen: I messed up a whole lot. Izzy was really the bearer of that because it's so like talk about the white room. If I mess up, there is no saving me.

[48:16] Isabelle McCalla: Like, I have no skill to fix something on stage. So like, if I mess up a line, you better hope that the person on stage with me has good improv skills because I will not fix it.

[48:31] Caitlin Kinnunen: And so there were many times when I would like really mess up and poor Izzy would be like, "I'm going to say this line now because you're gone."

[48:40] Isabelle McCalla: It was good, though, like maybe, you know, wake up, make sure I'm like, the worst was when you it was in the song that you would lose it when you're singing because, again, nobody can help you there.

[48:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: You just have to kind of wait until it. That was horrific and caused me the most anxiety ever.

[48:57] Isabelle McCalla: I'm sorry. The first time was really funny. The first time I was like, "This is atrocious."

[49:01] Caitlin Kinnunen: But then it kept going and it was awful. But like the first time I messed up, I was like, "What just happened?"

[49:06] Isabelle McCalla: Well, what took the pressure off me, because I used to be a bit of a perfectionist in a way, and just because I've dealt with all this panic stuff, is that seeing how much our beautiful like Brooksy and Chris.

[49:22] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh my God, like Chris for about 15 months was singing like that.

[49:30] Isabelle McCalla: But going to raise rejoices, just like whatever for months.

[49:37] Caitlin Kinnunen: But the way that they would laugh at themselves.

[49:40] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[49:40] Caitlin Kinnunen: Like it really took the pressure off and went like, "Oh, you know, it's just a show. We're not fighting ISIS. It's just a show."

[49:47] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah. One of my favorite mess ups was seen after on really hard when they decide you guys decide you're going to band together.

[49:55] Caitlin Kinnunen: And Brooks's line is, "I don't care if we have to decorate that gym with our own blood and hair."

[49:59] Isabelle McCalla: Emma will get the needs.

[50:02] Caitlin Kinnunen: What does she get?

[50:04] Isabelle McCalla: Well, she'll get the prom she deserves. But he couldn't remember.

[50:04] Caitlin Kinnunen: Decorate that gym with my hair.

[50:07] Isabelle McCalla: So we went, "I don't care if we have to dirty, dirty, bloody gym."

[50:12] Caitlin Kinnunen: I was on stage with him.

[50:15] Isabelle McCalla: How did you keep it together?

[50:17] Caitlin Kinnunen: We didn't. All of us were just staring at him and he was like, "We got that."

[50:21] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, that dirty, dirty, bloody gym.

[50:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: Also, another time when we're all on stage except for you and we just all lost it was in the opening of act two when Chris couldn't get through.

[50:34] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[50:36] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, yeah. And they started it over twice and we all just kept laughing.

[50:42] Isabelle McCalla: Or what about the time when I accidentally talked in an Italian accent or something?

[50:47] Caitlin Kinnunen: Wait, what?

[50:49] Isabelle McCalla: The line was, it was that scene, the top of act two and the line was, "Oh, God, what was the line?"

[50:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: It was like a take it a trip or something like that that I said.

[50:58] Isabelle McCalla: Like, I was like, "I can't just pull Jimmy Fallon out of my ass. He's..."

[51:04] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, yeah.

[51:06] Isabelle McCalla: Oh, I forget the line. But anyway, I started talking months in advance.

[51:10] Caitlin Kinnunen: It takes a month in advance or like something like that where everybody just stopped and looked at me and started laughing.

[51:17] Isabelle McCalla: And I was like, "I'm sorry. I'm not Italian."

[51:22] Caitlin Kinnunen: Did you do something else with that line when you said, "I can't just pull Jimmy Fallon out of my ass? He's..."

[51:27] Isabelle McCalla: He's too big or something like that.

[51:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: He's too big.

[51:37] Isabelle McCalla: I had so many horrible things happen during that scene.

[51:41] Caitlin Kinnunen: I mean, oh, yeah. OK, listen, we're going to take a quick break.

[51:45] Isabelle McCalla: And when we get back, we'll talk with a fan.

[51:47] Caitlin Kinnunen: OK, we're going to take a quick break. Everybody eat some food.

[51:51] Isabelle McCalla: All right. We'll be right back.

[51:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: But more just follows.

[51:59] Josh Lamon: How did you guys meet?

[52:04] Ben Harris: Oh, Ben Harris.

[52:06] Josh Lamon: Hey, Ben Harris.

[52:09] Ben Harris: How are you doing?

[52:11] Josh Lamon: I'm great. I'm good.

[52:12] Ben Harris: I'm good. I'm sitting here with Izzy McCalla and Caitlin Kinnunen.

[52:17] Josh Lamon: How are you guys?

[52:19] Caitlin Kinnunen: So good. How are you doing?

[52:21] Ben Harris: I'm great. Good. Awesome.

[52:23] Josh Lamon: Thanks for being on the show.

[52:25] Ben Harris: Sure. I love your podcast so much.

[52:28] Josh Lamon: Thanks. New best friend.

[52:31] Ben Harris: That's what you are. We're best friends.

[52:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: I see a wicked poster.

[52:36] Ben Harris: Yes, I have a few posters here in my dorm.

[52:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, that's great.

[52:41] Ben Harris: I go to Rutgers.

[52:43] Caitlin Kinnunen: What are you studying?

[52:45] Ben Harris: I'm here for music education.

[52:48] Ben Harris: And I want to pursue woodwind doubling, which is what I'm going to go to grad for.

[52:55] Ben Harris: So I play sax, clarinet, and flute.

[52:58] Ben Harris: And I'm hoping to do grad for that and hopefully do some Broadway gigs.

[53:03] Caitlin Kinnunen: So hopefully we'll be working together someday.

[53:06] Ben Harris: Yeah, I hope so, too.

[53:07] Josh Lamon: What question do you have for us today?

[53:10] Ben Harris: So I was wondering, what's the most important thing to do when you're trying to book your first Broadway gig when you don't exactly have any prior experience on Broadway?

[53:21] Caitlin Kinnunen: Say yes to everything.

[53:23] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah.

[53:25] Caitlin Kinnunen: You know, like so many people get really picky about what they say yes to.

[53:29] Isabelle McCalla: And I think there is a time in which you have to say yes to everything and just get yourself in those rooms.

[53:34] Caitlin Kinnunen: Start meeting new people and just show up and do good work and be a kind human being.

[53:40] Isabelle McCalla: And then it will keep happening.

[53:42] Caitlin Kinnunen: And then you'll get to the room where you want to be in.

[53:44] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, you have to make connections first.

[53:46] Caitlin Kinnunen: And your auditions become kind of like deposits in a bank.

[53:50] Isabelle McCalla: So you're really just waiting for the casting directors to get to know you a little bit better.

[53:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: And then they'll think of you more often once you've created a rapport with them and your work ethic and your abilities.

[54:01] Isabelle McCalla: And that goes with like every job position in theater.

[54:09] Caitlin Kinnunen: You know, that it's like whether you're auditioning for something, whether you're meeting with a music director to see if they want to work with you in their orchestra, you know, like just show up and do good work.

[54:19] Isabelle McCalla: Also, Caitlin touched on kindness. One thing that some of the best advice that I was ever given was when you are lucky enough to have a job, be easy to work with and happy to be there.

[54:31] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah, that goes so far.

[54:34] Isabelle McCalla: And that doesn't mean you're not allowed to bitch and moan. Like every show is hard.

[54:39] Caitlin Kinnunen: Every show has nonsense.

[54:41] Isabelle McCalla: And everywhere we go, there's annoying people.

[54:42] Caitlin Kinnunen: So you could be like your best buddy, Jakob, in the show.

[54:47] Isabelle McCalla: You're like, "Yo, Jakob."

[54:49] Caitlin Kinnunen: So she's Jakob.

[54:51] Isabelle McCalla: Do you have a best buddy, Jakob?

[54:53] Caitlin Kinnunen: What if I did?

[54:55] Isabelle McCalla: I would love that. I love Jakob.

[54:57] Caitlin Kinnunen: This is why I didn't want you to meet Ben.

[54:59] Isabelle McCalla: This is why I didn't want you to meet Ben.

[55:01] Josh Lamon: I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to judge you.

[55:03] Ben Harris: You really brought some drama out today, Ben.

[55:05] Ben Harris: I saw the show two times and it was absolutely fantastic.

[55:10] Caitlin Kinnunen: You are phenomenal.

[55:12] Ben Harris: I have seen a lot of shows on Broadway.

[55:15] Ben Harris: And I have not left a theater that happy, overjoyed and just ready to make a change.

[55:24] Caitlin Kinnunen: That's amazing. I love that.

[55:26] Isabelle McCalla: That show really just made a huge impact on me.

[55:30] Ben Harris: And I think for the Broadway community as a whole and just in general for society.

[55:37] Caitlin Kinnunen: Thank you.

[55:38] Isabelle McCalla: Thank you a lot. That means a lot.

[55:40] Caitlin Kinnunen: We also haven't seen each other in a month before we all started recording today.

[55:45] Isabelle McCalla: So we're all very emotional about it.

[55:50] Ben Harris: That's great.

[55:52] Josh Lamon: So what year are you in at school?

[55:54] Ben Harris: I'm a sophomore here.

[55:56] Josh Lamon: So getting back in the semester, getting back in the groove of things.

[56:00] Ben Harris: It's great.

[56:03] Ben Harris: I just auditioned for the pit of Sweeney Todd and I got that.

[56:10] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yes!

[56:12] Ben Harris: You're going to be playing wherever.

[56:14] Caitlin Kinnunen: I'm so excited.

[56:16] Ben Harris: I'm playing clarinet and potentially bass clarinet too.

[56:19] Caitlin Kinnunen: There's so much potential about it.

[56:21] Isabelle McCalla: If you need me to come to Rutgers and Tanya Harding some, I will do it.

[56:29] Ben Harris: Say no.

[56:30] Isabelle McCalla: Drop the clarinet and put a blow dart in it and be like...

[56:37] Ben Harris: I'm serious.

[56:39] Isabelle McCalla: I'm very tough. Anything for you, Ben.

[56:42] Ben Harris: Thank you very much.

[56:44] Josh Lamon: Ben, thank you for coming on the show today. I really appreciate it.

[56:47] Ben Harris: Thank you for having me. This was great.

[56:49] Josh Lamon: Yeah, man. And thanks for coming and supporting The Prom.

[56:53] Ben Harris: Yes, of course. It was fantastic.

[56:56] Ben Harris: And I can't wait to see what you all do in the future.

[56:58] Caitlin Kinnunen: We can't wait to see what you do.

[57:00] Isabelle McCalla: Yeah, we can't wait to see what you do.

[57:02] Ben Harris: So you're playing in the pit with us.

[57:04] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah, that's the goal.

[57:06] Josh Lamon: Or next time we're on the show, you should shadow the conductor or something.

[57:12] Ben Harris: They do that, you know.

[57:14] Ben Harris: Yeah, I've definitely thought about that.

[57:16] Josh Lamon: Cool. Awesome.

[57:18] Josh Lamon: Well, Ben, thank you for coming on the show and thank you for all the love.

[57:22] Caitlin Kinnunen: And we are wishing you all the love in the world.

[57:25] Ben Harris: Thank you so much. Great talk, guys.

[57:26] Josh Lamon: Yeah, you too.

[57:28] Ben Harris: Bye, Ben.

[57:30] Caitlin Kinnunen: Oh, that's so sweet.

[57:32] Isabelle McCalla: Imagine being able to be that talented and, you know, play different instruments.

[57:38] Caitlin Kinnunen: I think it's pretty wild.

[57:40] Isabelle McCalla: I can't do it.

[57:42] Josh Lamon: Well, listen, I loved having you both on the show today.

[57:45] Caitlin Kinnunen: Thank you so much.

[57:47] Isabelle McCalla: We started holding hands and we're going to end holding hands.

[57:50] Josh Lamon: Okay.

[57:52] Caitlin Kinnunen: Blessed be the fruit.

[57:54] Isabelle McCalla: Blessed be the fruit.

[57:56] Caitlin Kinnunen: Blessed be the fruit.

[57:58] Isabelle McCalla: Caitlin's not playing, which means she gets the wall.

[58:04] Josh Lamon: May the Lord open.

[58:07] Josh Lamon: All right, swallowers.

[58:09] Josh Lamon: We will see you next time.

[58:11] Josh Lamon: Thanks for tuning in.

[58:13] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah, that's what they're called.

[58:15] Isabelle McCalla: You four-eyed slut.

[58:16] Caitlin Kinnunen: You four-eyed slut.

[58:19] Isabelle McCalla: Just two-eyed slut.

[58:21] Caitlin Kinnunen: Yeah, she doesn't wear glasses.

[58:23] Isabelle McCalla: But she does in her soul, in her dirty, dirty, bloody soul.

[58:28] Josh Lamon: Okay, we'll see you next time, swallowers.

[58:31] All: Bye!

[58:36] Announcer: Josh Swallows Broadway is produced by Alan Seales and Dori Berenstein.

[58:40] Announcer: Photography for the show is by Michael Kushner.

[58:42] Announcer: Make sure to look him up. He is my favorite photographer in New York City.

[58:46] Announcer: The theme song is by myself and Anthony Norman.

[58:48] Announcer: Want to be on the show? I'd love to have you.

[58:50] Announcer: Email me at josh at joshswallows.com.

[58:54] Announcer: Be sure to find me on Instagram at josh.lamon.

[58:57] Announcer: See you soon!

[58:59] All: Josh Swallows!

[59:01] All: Josh Swallows!

[59:03] All: Josh Swallows!

[59:05] All: Josh Swallows Broadway!